004: Memories
by Ava Addemdum
Summary: Naruto stumbles across a silver locket one day. Pieces of neglected memories come rushing back, along with a forgotten promise… (Contains slight yaoi, one-shot. Part of “NaruSasu 100” writing quest.)


D i s c l a i m e r : I don't own Naruto.

W a r n i n g : This product contains large amount of clichs and fluff. Ones who have diabetes or are afraid of tooth decay, please think twice before consuming. Include traces of yaoi.

This is the first story I've written for the "NaruSasu 100" quest. For more details, please go and read by bio. If you can't see the first sentence of the title below (or it's in scribbles) then it probably means your computer is not capable of reading Japanese characters.(or that there's something wrong with mine, and personally, I'm going for this one)

Someone is calling me; with a voice as gentle as the autumn breeze.

_Naruto, Naruto..._

The voice called.

The words cottoned together in my foggy brain.

The voice went on.

0 0 4 : "› '› 

M e m o r i e s

I woke with the sun in my face; I grunted, pulling the blanket over my face. I must have forgotten to close those bloody curtains the night before.

Normally, I would have jumped out of bed. Because that me, ya know? The energetic Uzumaki Naruto. But that morning, I just wasn't feeling it, funny that, because I actually went to bed at a decent hour yesterday, unlike many nights before.

All that week, I had these strange dreams of someone in the distance calling my name. This may not sound like much to you, but frankly, the idea of some faceless stranger calling out to me just didn't seem like such a hot dream to have. And you know what the freaky thing was? Whenever I tried to run up to the figure, it just sort of...faded away. I don't know if "fade"is the right word here. Pull away, walk away, disappear, whatever stirs your tea. The point was I couldn't see the asshole's face. That was what bothered me.

All I knew was that I've heard that voice somewhere before, a long time ago.

I scratched by protesting head. Thinking does you no good. That was, and still is, one of my morals.

Even though I was not feeling like myself that morning, what has to be done has to be done, and getting out of bed was, unfortunately, one of them.

Stomping over pieces of trash, eaten apples and scrolls, I reached for my laundry pile. I didn't have the time to do my laundry that week, so old clothing had to do.

Just because your room looks like a pigsty, it's still best not to kick everything out of the way to make yourself a pathway. Believe me; I learnt that the hard way.

My foot connected with the edge of a very hard, wooden drawer. Though the pain was enough to make my eyes water, being my brave self, I stood there with my chest held high, unlike someone named Uchiha Sasuke who would probably run around the room screaming. Never the less, I socked the damn thing. Don't ask me why, I told you I wasn't being myself (though I'm pretty sure I'll sock that thing anyway even if I was).

After the furry, I eyed the increased pile of junk on the floor. The annoying little voice in my head that everyone called "conscience" told me that this was one of the few stupid things I've done that tainted my record of intelligent doings.

I started to stuff everything back to the battered old thing when something caught my eyes.

I paused to pick it up.

It was a necklace.

What the hell was something so girlie doing in my drawers anyway? I squinted at it, wondering why and where I receive this thing.

It was a little silver locket. I laid it across my palm. On the glistering front was the symbol of the Leaf. The grooves of the pattered were lightly black. I carefully opened it, expecting to see someone's photo in there. After all, that was what a locket is usually used for...isn't it?

The delicate thing clicked opened.

There was nothing inside.

Well...not exactly.

A melody floated out of the locket.

Awkward at first, with random notes crinkled cringingly; probably trying to get its old gear working. Then, the tune flowed on.

I'm never the one with fancy words. So I'm really not the one you want for describing pretty things. All I could manage was that the melody was peaceful.

I sat there, letting the melody's crystal notes glide in my room. The song was familiar, yet distant. Like a childhood memory.

Slowly, long forgotten emotions were lured out from somewhere deep inside. Feelings flashed through me like moving pictures. I thought I could see faint pictures in front of my eyes; of a little girl, with black hair, and me.

­­

* * *

I must've been somewhere around five to six years old, didn't matter anyway. People weren't going to play with me no matter what my age was. They call times back then "golden childhood", stupid thing to say really. Those dumb shits should shove their so called "golden childhood" up their ass and have a taste of reality.

That was until I met her.

I don't remember exactly how we met. But it was a good thing that we did.

Somehow, she was unfazed by anything the children said about me. She never looked at me as if I had sprouted a head, nor did she ever call me a "monster". I was pretty sure that she had some influence herself though, because no one seemed to tease her about being friends with me.

We would play together in the sandbox in the deserted park. We would play on the empty swing, and she would make a stern expression with her cute face, telling me to push her. Of course, I would have done that without being asked. I pushed her as high towards the sky as those chains allowed. We would run around in the training grounds together, hide in the bushes, watching the shinobis train. That was when we made up our minds to be the greatest ninjas of our time.

On one warm afternoon, we sat in the glade, she was humming a tune. All around us the cicadas chirped. I was playing with her black hair. Though it was a bit too spiky for a girl's, I fell in love with it; like the way I fell in love with its owner.

"Hey, Naruto?" She whispered.

"Yeah?" I whispered back, contented with the calm atmosphere.

"I won't be able to play with you tomorrow," she murmured, fidgeting with a blade of grass.

"Tis okay, we can play the day after that," I shrugged, and looked around, trying to find a daisy to put in her hair. I found one, and leaned to one side to reach for it.

"No, Naruto, not the day after that either," she took a deep breathe, "Mummy said I can't play with you anymore."

I froze. My hand slumped down on the poor daisy.

"...Why...?" My voice trembled; the warm sun didn't seem to do jack-shit anymore.

"I dunno, Mummy said that you are a bad boy and that I shouldn't be playing with you," she still had her back facing me.

"But I'm not!" I seized her shoulders, forcing her to face me,"You know I'm not, doncha??"

Even in my frustration, I let go as soon as I saw her face.

It was streaked with tears.

I've never saw her cry before; not once. Not even when some morons threw stones at her for a joke. No, she returned the favour a thousand times more, in a few seconds, the joke was on them.

But this time, she cried. That was the first time I've ever saw her cry.

She reached around her neck and fished out a silver locket. She put it around my neck, her fingers fumbled to open it.

Coming from the locket was the song she was humming before.

"There. Every time you look at it, you will think of me," She wiped her tears away, curling her lips slightly, "now you'll never forget me."

"I won't forget you," I sniffed, trying to blink back the tears that were rolling in my eyes.

She gave me one last sad smile, and said---

She turned to walk away. It was then when I finally saw the fan-like symbol on the back of her shirt.

_Uchiha._

* * *

I ran out the door, ignoring the fact that I was still in my pjs, with the singing locket clutched in my hand.

I ran madly through the streets of Konoha, having no idea where I was going. I stumbled across the eastern gate and decide that would be my first lucky try.

When I saw the figure in navy, I convinced myself to buy lotto that week.

* * *

"Sasuke!" Naruto puffed, nearly tripping over his fluffy slippers.

The called teen tried shuffling away, desperate to pretend he didn't know him.

"Look!" The blonde held out his palms.

"What? You want me to stare at your sweaty..." his bored remark trailed off as he focused on the small object on his hand, "Where...did you get that...?" He eyed the blue eyed ninja with wary.

"You mean you recognize this?" Naruto widened his eyes at him, "it didn't...by any chance belong to a female relative of yours did it?" He added hopefully.

Sasuke snorted, "Female relatives? No," he eyed the locket, "it was mine."

Naruto stared at him in disbelief, left bottom eyelid started to twitch, "You?!"

"Yes, me. I thought I've lost it," he tuned his attention back at the kitsune standing in front of him, then crossed his arms, "What puzzled me the most is how it ended up in your hands."

"You mean you don't remember?"

"Remember what?"

Naruto grinned, closing his palm in the same time, "Oh, never mind."

_She gave me one last sad smile, and said---_

_"It's a deal then, we'll never forget each other."_

---------------O w a r i------------------

That's one done...99 more to go...llb

And about the girl business, I hope you've figured by know that it was Sasuke...not that he looked particularly like a girl back then but you know... (Irresponsibleness playing up)


End file.
